The University of Scranton
Contact Information
Education and Research:
As a Catholic, Jesuit institution, the University of Scranton has a strong commitment to education for justice. We believe that sustainability is an integral part of achieving that commitment. We support that commitment with clear, well-focused, and well-financed initiatives that have been highly successful in infusing sustainability throughout our curriculum.
While we have hired both faculty members with research and teaching expertise in sustainability (most recently, e.g., in the new field of conservation psychology) and a new Associate Provost of Civic Engagement who chairs a University-wide sustainability task force, our primary curricular transformations have been the result of working with current faculty members to infuse sustainability across the existing curriculum. A focused, on-going effort, more than 1/5 (over 50) of Scranton faculty members have participated in our sustainability curriculum initiatives and more than that number of courses have been affected. Many of our faculty members have developed assignments that have focused student research on how we might improve other sustainability efforts on campus. Still others have become influential in infusing sustainability into mainstream textbooks adopted nationally across the disciplines.
Our initiative began in 1996, when the Chemistry department first worked to infuse green chemistry into an existing environmental chemistry course and then developed green chemistry teaching both real world case studies and teaching modules for nine different chemistry courses. Their efforts have been recognized both nationally and globally; their case studies were disseminated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Chemical Society to colleges, universities and businesses as part of their green chemistry educational materials. In 2000, the University of Scranton received a grant from The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation to develop web-based green chemistry teaching modules for nine different commonly taught chemistry courses; these teaching modules are used by instructors around the globe.
The success in infusing green chemistry practices into a variety of chemistry courses and laboratories became a model for infusing sustainability across the entire curriculum. Since 2005, the University of Scranton has funded annual summer faculty development workshops aimed at infusing sustainability across the curriculum.
The aims of our workshop are threefold: 1) to broaden faculty knowledge of sustainability; 2) to train faculty to integrate sustainability into their courses; and 3) to implement what the faculty have learned into the curriculum. Unique to our model, we ask our faculty members to complete a series of on-line readings prior to the first day of the workshop. Also unique is our focus on peer-to-peer learning and accountability. Faculty workshop participants present year-end outcome reports to both their own workshop cohort and the new group of workshop participants. We thus sustain our curriculum initiative by drawing on past participants’ successes and know-how to motivate the new cohort. The success of our model is measured not only by the number of courses in which we have infused sustainability, but by the fact that other colleges and universities are now seeking our assistance so that they may replicate our model.
For additional information: http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/default.shtml
Campus Operations:
The University of Scranton’s Plant Engineer works with all campus community members to insure a green campus. Sustainability projects have improved energy efficiency, conserved water, increased recycling and reduced waste. Green building maintenance programs and construction are common practice.
The University’s commitment to sustainability is showcased by its Silver LEED certified building, the DeNaples Campus Center—a hub of campus and community life. The University has begun construction on a new science center designed for silver LEED certification that will integrate sustainability demonstration projects throughout. The facility incorporates today’s most innovative science teaching techniques into a dynamic, modern design that includes inviting spaces for student/faculty collaboration, glass-walled laboratories, and the efficiencies of using shared instrumentation.
The University of Scranton has implemented a recycling program in all facilities to gather cardboard, newspaper, office paper, plastic, glass, grass and leaves, aluminum, copper, and steel. This program has recycled over 1,000 tons of material over the past ten years. The program received a 2nd Place Award in the Governor's 2002 Rush to Recycle Program from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Students have been involved by doing research studies on student behavior and recycling as well as participating in residence hall recycling competitions.
The University salvages recyclable materials from demolished buildings, including copper plumbing lines and uses the funds to purchase equipment for the Physical Plant. A fluorescent, sodium, HID, and metal halide lamp recycling program has also been in place for several years. The University has replaced approximately 2,800 incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps in all facilities and uses energy efficient lighting in all outdoor fixtures. The use of florescent lamps will save over $160,000 in electricity over the life of the lamps. The University continually evaluates areas of campus to determine if they are over illuminated and adjusts lighting levels as appropriate. Time clocks, photo cells or both on lighting systems have been installed to conserve energy.
Controlled experiments have been used to find the most efficient toilets, faucets, lighting, and other equipment for all University buildings. The University highly recommends the use of EnergyStar® certified equipment in the specifications for all construction and renovation projects. Energy efficient T-8 fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts have been the standard on campus for new construction and renovations for the last ten years.
Insulated windows have been used to replace single glazed windows in freshman residence halls. Annual water use audits are used to monitor savings, which are upward of 11,413,000 gallons. Vending machines are equipped with a VendMiser® device that turns the machines off for periods of time when they are not being used. Computer controlled temperature and air quality systems insure energy efficiency.
Landscaping of the campus grounds prevents soil erosion, enhances the campus and produces oxygen. Soil erosion control plans are implemented on all construction projects.
All underground plastic and metal conduits are encased in concrete to prevent leaching of PVC and other contaminants into ground water. A hazardous waste disposal program has been in place for several years.
Administration and Finance:
In the past 5 years, the University has empowered campus-wide sustainability efforts through the President’s convening of a Sustainability Task Force composed of students, staff and faculty. Sustainability has become an integral part of all University planning discussions and builds on the University’s longstanding commitment to social justice. While several key administrators (e.g., the Associate Provost for Civic Engagement, the Director of Community Relations, the Director of the Office of Equity and Diversity) insure that critical aspects of the University’s sustainability planning goals are implemented, the responsibility for sustainability is a commitment made by all. In addition to the Task Force on Sustainability, there exist committees that oversee various diversity initiatives as well as socially responsible investing.
The University serves as a center of civic engagement in the life of the city; last year it hosted more than 570 civic events on its campus free of charge. In 2008, the University was classified by the Carnegie Foundation under its Community Engagement designation. Examples of outreach the fact that last year, 1,384 undergraduates participated in service learning courses; 2,400 students volunteered 165,000 hours in more than 140 agencies. The Schemel Forum provides a forum for all local community members to engage in the study and discussion of the relationship between the humanities and democracy. The University’s Jane Kopas Women’s Center partners with area non-profits to eliminate gender-based violence. The University’s Leahy Community Health and Family Center has provided services to more than 1,000 patients from local underserved communities. Teacher educators have worked with local schools to infuse sustainability into the K-12 curriculum. Last April, the University partnered with the City of Scranton and DxDempsey to organize more than a dozen free, educational events for Earth Week; a larger event is planned in the coming year.
The University is actively engaged in recruiting and retaining faculty, students, and staff from traditionally under-represented groups. The University provides Arrupe awards, merit-based scholarships averaging more than $11,000, to provide educational access to students from under-represented groups. For the 2008-2009 academic year, ninety-two percent of incoming first-year students received some form of financial aid, with the average aid package equaling $20,473.
In addition to recruitment and retention efforts, the University seeks to broaden campus and community understanding of diversity issues. Examples of this commitment to diversity education include the University’s core curriculum which includes diversity requirements as well as the establishment of a new academic department of Latin American Studies and Women’s Studies. The International Student Club hosts weekly programs. The University’s Office of Equity and Diversity, the Center for Multiculturalism and the Jane Kopas Women’s Center all sponsor extra-curricular programming on diversity issues that are open to the public. Each year, the University features an “education for justice” theme that connects to some dimension of sustainability and becomes a theme around which many academic departments, committees, centers, and student groups do educational programming. This year’s theme is “food.”
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